Hellsinki Industrial Festival has a tradition of opening with a smaller pre-club event, and this year was no different. The kickoff took place at On the Rocks, Helsinki, on November 7th, 2024, featuring three bands: LOKA (FI), EVESTUS (EE), and CORLYX (GB).
When I arrived, LOKA‘s set was already underway. Unfortunately, it turned into a photographer’s worst nightmare: the stage was shrouded in heavy smoke, with no proper stage lighting—just decorative red lights—and the two artists were dressed entirely in black with ski masks. Capturing anything worthwhile under these conditions was almost impossible, especially as one of the artists moved so much that even manual focus required sheer luck. While I heard some praise for their performance from a few attendees, the audience was sparse. Personally, I’m not deeply into noise music, so I can’t provide much insight into their show, though it didn’t leave much of an impression on me.
Next up was EVESTUS from Estonia, a band I was completely unfamiliar with before the evening aside from a quick listen to a few tracks on my way to the venue. Their performance had great energy, but the over-the-top stage costumes and chaotic theatrics didn’t quite land for me. While I appreciate a strong visual element, their frequent costume changes felt excessive and didn’t add much to the performance. One outfit—a bizarre combination of a welding mask and Muay Thai shorts—stood out as particularly odd and somewhat distracting.
Finally, the headliners, CORLYX, took the stage. Having followed their work, including their collaboration with SUZI SABOTAGE—who performed at last year’s Hellsinki Industrial Festival and made a guest appearance tonight—I had a good idea of what to expect. Post-punk, as a genre, hasn’t seen much reinvention in recent years, but it doesn’t necessarily need to. CORLYX leans into the genre’s strengths and executes it exceptionally well, both on record and live. Their performance was polished, engaging, and thoroughly enjoyable, proving they’ve mastered the art of delivering a compelling live show.
The pre-club event, despite its ups and downs, was a fitting warm-up for the festival ahead. While not every act resonated equally, CORLYX‘s performance capped the evening on a high note. Check our photo gallery here…
Loka
Evestus
Corlyx
Photos by Richard Forsman
